Woman caused SR-67 fatal crash as means of suicide, officials report

An East County freeway collision that killed two people last week was intentionally caused by one of the drivers as a means of killing herself, the Medical Examiner’s Office reported Monday.

Trista Lynn Stier, 29, purposely drove her pickup the wrong way and at high speed on state Route 67 in Lakeside about 3:15 p.m. Friday and crashed it into an oncoming truck just south of Winter Gardens Boulevard, according to the county agency.

Medics took Stier and the other driver, 49-year-old Douglas Menegos of Alpine, to trauma centers, where both were pronounced dead later in the afternoon.

The medical examiner ruled Stier’s death a suicide. The reason for that determination was not made public.